Cheryl penn's Blog – June 2011 Archive (8)

John Bennett aka Onword John – a dab hand at words for sure!  The visuals of Johns language use are well known to us all – the way he takes these unwilling critters and bends and shapes and remakes them to suit his own vocabulary - and the amazing thing? They happily bend to his will :-)

John sent a note with his work - I hope he does not mind me quoting:

Hi…

I received more work from Lesley for the Heart Matters projects - FAB as usual :-).  Anyone who has seen another person through Bad Physical Heart Matters, known this sight. The staples that hold chest and heart together. 

When it happens to someone close to you, no elastoplasts  can fix a Heart Matter.

 …

Its been six months since I've heard from G.A.

I know now that his concern about our lack of soul food here in South Africa is real.  

What on EARTH are those??? DEF none here, nope, never seen any ever. Thats all about to change....

I think…

For sure, The World MAY be a Town, but in Bruno's world town its camouflaged. And thats Bruno - isn't it? Convolutions, crumpling and re-opening. Recycling.  Half hidden - or is that re-hidden? Half quiet, half loud, all sealed. …

Diane sent this very well made card - proof -  it journeyed  unscathed through the post. A feat in itself! Sandwiched between two cards is flimsy plastic - Diane's continual nod to TrashPo. Echoing the work of Marie Wintzer (I think Diane?) , the front is carefully stitched in color coded cotton. There is  slight mutilation to the black painted board where the stitches enter and leave. A memory mark.  Its a FAB for sure - thank you Diane :-) X …

Three’s Company???

Lets start at the end – it’s a very good place to start.  Why? Because its an answer to a question -  Marie, how do you work? 

That question began when Jen Staggs asked me to write to her and tell her how I make art - my art making processes. I then asked J F Chapelle.  He sent me a diagrammatic explanation of his working process. I…

The DreamTime.

Living in Africa means that rituals and scarring and body painting are part of our daily visuals. We see  beaded and painted Sangoma’s  nearly every day.  There are annual circumcision rituals here too.  So Guido’s work is not as strange to me as it may appear to some.

The title of Guido's envelope:

Walking Works of Art BOYS WEAR CLAN DESIGNS DURING A TEN DAY CIRCUMCISION…

I am very fortunate to have received these pieces from Bruno.  After REALLY pleading with the man for some WORDS, he describes his work as 'minimal' and 'emotionally detached'.  Those terms describe these artworks succinctly :-).  I have commented before on the sense of desolation/abandonment in Bruno's John pieces.  The clean lines and faint images leave much to the imagination - an integral part of Bruno's 'unsaids'.  Faint shadows skim the surface of the card, creating ghosts that once…